Celebrity moms who have lost custody of their kids

Who Magazine which is an Australian sister magazine of People Magazine, had an article on Britney Spears, 25, losing custody over sons Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 13 months, in their latest issue. As a sidebar, they named other celebrity mothers who have lost custody over their children,

- Former NYPD Blue actress Kim Delaney, 48, lost custody of her son Jack, now 17, to her ex-husband actor Joe Cortese, 59, in 2005. Jack claimed that Kim who was arrested for drunk-driving in 2002, had insisted upon Jack getting in the car with her while she was under the influence. Kim entered rehab in 2006 and has now regained full custody over Jack.

- After overdosing from painkillers in front of her daughter Frances Bean, now 15, and refusing to let child services in her home, Courtney Love, 43, lost custody over her daughter who was sent to live with Courtney’s stepfather and sister in 2003. She regained full custody after completing rehab in 2006.

- Former child star and actress Tatum O’Neal, 43, lost custody over her children Kevin, now 21, Sean, 20, and Emily, 16, to ex-husband John McEnroe, 48, in 1995 while fighting her heroin addiction. After various attempts at rehab, she was subjected to court-mandated drug testing and supervised visits. She now has joint custody with John.

They have the same article in the American People magazine, except they also have Paula Poundstone listed.

Rachel
on October 10th, 2007

It’s sad, but not unheard of. I’m not sure exactly why a judge is less likely, under the same or similar circumstances, not to take away a mother’s custody yet so easily take it away from a father. I mean, I know why they do it, because of the idea in our society that children so need their mothers, but it doesn’t make sense to me at all that we place mothers on this higher pedestal of worth to their children and yet we seem to expect less of them or at least we allow them to go farther on the path of destruction before stepping in.

I absolutely agree with the courts decision on each of these cases. In the case of Britney Spears I can’t believe it took so long. It shouldn’t be any more difficult for a mother to lose custody than a father simply because she’s the mother. If a child’s life is in danger then it’s time to step in, period. Hopefully as the other women have done, at some point in the future, Britney can prove herself worthy of once again being a part of her sons’ lives.
It isn’t she who deserves another chance though… it’s her children. They deserve a good mother, hopefully she can become one.

I agree, Rachel, it took long enough for Brit to get hit with this. When I heard she lost custody my first thought was, “Well she certainly was trying hard enough to.”

I can’t help but remember the publicity photos of her with Kevin’s daughter w/ Shar (Kori?). How she was smiling and arm-around-the-girl, etc, and how it all was for show. Typical Brit, really. The ruling should have been a wake-up call last week, but as we all saw, she was out partying and tanning without skipping a beat.

Some situations just prove themselves.

Di
on October 10th, 2007

It is interesting that one commonality between all these celebrity moms who have lost custody is that there were allegations that mother had either a drug or alcohol problem.
It is unfortunate that any mother has to loose custody of their children but I think it is reasonable for the court to award custody to father at least temporarily until the mother gets her substance abuse problem under control.
At the end of day while the children will miss spending time with their mother, they will in the end have the benefit of mother whose mind is clear from drugs and/or alcohol.

Lilybett
on October 10th, 2007

The Kim Delaney piece should read that son JACK testified that Kim forced him (JACK) to get in the car.

I’m pretty sure Kim didn’t force ex-husband Joe into a car.

gianna
on October 10th, 2007

Sad but in many cases some mothers are just not mature enough, or have too many issues to be able to raise their kids properly.